Beit Furik, Huwwara, Za’tara (Tapuah), Mon 11.8.08, Afternoon
Translator" charles K.
13:35; Shomron gate – Large police and border police presence. No detainees.
13:50: Za'tara
A bus has been detained, all its passengers taken off and a number of soldiers near them. While we're parking the car, the bus is released, but one of the passengers is sent back in the direction of Nablus. He didn't speak with us, so we don't have information about what happened.
The person guarding the l"Menora" is at his post and watches the places around the plaza where hitchhikers wait.
Three cars waiting from the west, 16 from the north.
14:10: Huwwara
No detainees in isolation. A taxi driver reports that there have been problems since the morning, people under 35 are being detained.
I., the DCO representative, 2nd lieutenant N. – the checkpoint commander.
The x-ray vehicle isn't there. We ask about it – it was taken to be repaired, and they don't know when it will be returned.
No dog or dog handler. When does she arrive, we ask? Whenever she wants to, was the reply.
Border police soldiers at the checkpoint. We asked why – a tour, that's all. They leave after a few minutes.
14:55: Beit Furik
An armored military vehicle standing a little bit past the upper parking lot, toward Beit Furik. We asked the person selling coffee about it. He says that there's a kind of truck here that transports cars, and they want to make sure that it really returns to Nablus and doesn't continue into Beit Furik.
First sergeant M. smiles at us.
The truck returns to Nablus.
Few pedestrians; they're checked in a businesslike manner.
A car comes from the direction of Nablus – the driver gets out, speaks English, he's a teacher.
At least five cars are waiting at the exit from Nablus.
15:45: Huwwara
Two detainees await us.
Riva called the humanitarian center, and was told they'd try to look into it.
One of them is yelling: I have to get out of here, and I'll get out of here, even if it takes a bullet in the head! And you better bring someone to teach you how to behave! And stop turning everything into a principle
N., the commander, stands near the isolation pen and talks to him. I. is also there.
I take photographs in order to record the conversation, and two soldiers come over and tell me to stop because "it's forbidden to photograph soldiers" (since when?). N., the commander, comes over, tells them to go to their positions and explains with a smile: they don't like you. That's their right, I replied, and I have a right to take photographs…
Here's what N. told us about what happened: The guy's in a hurry, and that's why he's yelling. He tried to bring in auto parts, and that's forbidden at this checkpoint. N. says – I saw him on line, explained to him that he can't bring them through, and that he should go back. He went to another line. He was turned back again, and then got in a taxi and tried to bring in the parts that way. The other man is his friend, who knew that bringing parts in isn't allowed here – but still volunteered to be the delivery boy. The first was detained at 3 pm, the second a few minutes before we arrived. Both are young men, in their late twenties.
OK, we say – You can't bring auto parts through the Huwwara checkpoint. Where can you bring them in? I don't know, shrugs N. After a little more pressure, and Ruby's intervention – who says that you're allowed to have a little initiative, he admits that there's a lot of pressure during this shift, and he isn't interested in finding out, because he's not the one who's supposed to give "them" answers.
I. says, you can bring them in through the Awarta checkpoint. They don't like to go there, because its out of their way.
N.: they have it rough; so do we. What can you do? I'd give anything not to be here, sweating in this flak jacket. If there were a dog handler, even though it's against the rules the dog would do a check and he could go through.
After a long wait, the father of the first man arrives to take the auto parts back to Nablus. "Keep him detained even for five days," he tells the soldiers (according to them).
A car is checked – it takes about one minute. A taxi – five minutes.
16:50: Za'tara: ten cars waiting from the north, five from the west.
A Hummer is standing opposite Zeita Jama'in. We asked one of the people waiting about it. He said they're looking and checking licenses.
The security personnel who were at Shomron gate have left, and the road is open.
Beit Furik checkpoint
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One of the three internal checkpoints that closed on the city of Nablus - Beit Furik to the east, Hawara to the south, Beit Iba to the west. The checkpoint is located at the junction of Roads 557 (an apartheid road that was forbidden for Palestinians), leading to the Itamar and Alon Morea settlements and Road 5487. The checkpoint was established in 2001 for pedestrians and vehicles; The opening hours were short and the transition was slow and very problematic.Allegedly, the checkpoint is intended to monitor the movement to and from Nablus of the residents of Beit Furik and Beit Dajan, being the only opening outside their villages. Since May 2009 the checkpoint is open 24 hours a day, the military presence is limited, vehicles can pass through it without inspections, except for random inspections. (Updated April 2010)
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Huwwara
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The Huwwara checkpoint is an internal checkpoint south of the city of Nablus, at the intersection of Roads 60 and 5077 (between the settlements of Bracha and Itamar). This checkpoint was one of the four permanent checkpoints that closed on Nablus (Beit Furik and Awarta checkpoints to the east and the Beit Iba checkpoint to the west). It was a pedestrian-only barrier. As MachsomWatch volunteers, we watched therre since 2001 two shifts a day - morning and noon, the thousands of Palestinians leaving Nablus and waiting for hours in queues to reach anywhere else in the West Bank, from the other side of the checkpoint the destination could only be reached by public transport. In early June 2009, as part of the easing of Palestinian traffic in the West Bank, the checkpoint was opened to vehicular traffic. The passage was free, with occasional military presence in the guard tower. Also, there were vehicle inspections from time to time. Since the massacre on 7.10.2023, the checkpoint has been closed to Palestinians.
On February 26, 2023, about 400 settlers attacked the town's residents for 5 hours and set fire to property, such as houses and cars. Disturbances occurred in response to a shooting of two Jewish residents of Har Bracha by a Palestinian Terrorist. The soldiers stationed in the town did not prevent the arson and rescued Palestinian families from their homes only after they were set on fire. No one was punished and Finance Minister Smotrich stated that "the State of Israel should wipe out Hawara." Left and center organizations organized solidarity demonstrations and support actions for the residents of Hawara.Hawara continued to be in the headlines in all the months that followed: more pogroms by the settlers, attacks by Palestinians and a massive presence of the army in the town. It amounted to a de facto curfew of commerce and life in the center of the city. On October 5, 2023, MK Zvi established a Sukkah in the center of Hawara and hundreds of settlers backed the army blocked the main road and held prayers in the heart of the town all night and the next day. On Saturday, October 7, 23 The "Swords of Iron" war began with an attack by Hamas on settlements surrounding Gaza in the face of a poor presence of the IDF. Much criticism has been made of the withdrawal of military forces from the area surrounding Gaza and their placement in the West Bank, and in the Hawara and Samaria region in particular, as a shield for the settlers who were taking over and rioting.
On November 12, 2023, the first section of the Hawara bypass road intended for Israeli traffic only was opened. In this way, the settlers can bypass the road that goes through the center of Hawara, which is the main artery for traffic from the Nablus area to Ramallah and the south of the West Bank. For the construction of the road, the Civil Administration expropriated 406 dunams of private land belonging to Palestinians from the nearby villages. The settlers are not satisfied with this at the moment, and demand to also travel through Hawara itself in order to demonstrate presence and control.(updated November 2023)
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Shoshi AnbarMay-18-2025Huwara: The old houses in Area C
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Za'tara (Tapuah)
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Za'tara (Tapuah) Za'tara is an internal checkpoint in the heart of the West Bank, at the intersection of Road 60 and Road 505 (Trans-Samaria), east of the Tapuah settlement. This checkpoint is the "border" marked by the IDF between the north and south of the West Bank, in accordance with the policy of separation between the two parts of the West Bank that has been in place since December 2005. At the Za'tara checkpoint, there are separate routes for Israelis and Palestinians. In the route for Israelis, there are no inspections and the route for Palestinians inspects. The queue lengthens and shortens suits. The checkpoint is open 24 hours a day. The checkpoint is partially staffed and the people who pass through it are checked at random.
Shoshi AnbarSep-27-2023Za'atra (Tapuah Intersection). Signs
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